Tea Time Part 3

“Oh? That unruly werewolf? Fine, show him in, Tiffany,” Viollette commanded her maid. The maid bowed and left the garden back into the manor.
Jessie turned his smooth, white face away from Marlene’s embrace towards Viollette. “Ooooh, do you have another guest? He can join our tea party!”
“No no. Just an unwanted beast,” Viollette scoffed.
Marlene smiled her mischievously and said, “Oh? Aren’t you one too ‘Madame’ Viollette?”
Viollette scowled at Marlene. “Hold your tongue, girl.”
“Having trouble with children, Madame Viollette?” Alfred laughed, as he stepped out of the manor’s giant doors. He dressed in a black tuxedo and wore a top hat. His shaggy, brown hair reached down to his shoulders and his face sported a large beard.
“Don’t you ever manage your disgusting hair?” Viollette asked.
“A pointless endeavor. The hair would just grow out again in a few days time,” Alfred replied. Tiffany approached Alfred, and with a quick motion of her hands, created a black wood chair with velvet cushions. Alfred moved the chair closer to the white table and sat down. “Ah yes, thank you Tiffany. Now then, Madame Viollette, I have a matter to discuss with you. There appears to be…unwelcome visitors in your forest.”
Viollette sipped some tea and leaned back. “And why should I care? People intrude in my forest all the time. It’s their fault if they perish.”
“Yeah, Viola’s too busy playing with us!” Marlene interjected.
Alfred smiled. “Oh, my apologies Madame. I hadn’t realized I was cutting into your playtime with children.”
Viollette set her tea cup down and said through gritted teeth, “I am not playing with children.”
“Not playing with children? I’m just ten years old, and Jessie isn’t even nine yet!” Marlene cackled. She turned to Alfred, explaining “She plays with us because no one else wants to play with her.”
Alfred raised his eyebrow, but Viollette cut him off before he could speak. “Silence girl! You should be grateful you aren’t dead!”
Marlene continued to taunt and laugh at Viollette. “And-and you know what’s the best part? She likes playing with little children! Ahaha!” Marlene clutched her stomach, tears in her eyes as she kept laughing. “It’s because she likes being all adult-like, but she’s so small! Even after all these years she’s still a tiny girl! We’re her only ‘friends’ that’s smaller than her!”
A loud bang sounded through the garden. Marlene fell to the ground, bound by a smokey, black rope. Viollette stood facing Marlene, a fierce expression on her face. Smoke drifted from her fingers, and the smell of ash lingered in the air. The garden grew quiet save for Viollette’s heavy breathing.